Il piano dell’Europa per far crescere le startup

During
my official trips around European Union countries, I always try to
make time to visit local startup communities. I am constantly
impressed by their dynamism, imagination and drive to succeed. I also
learn a great deal from them about how hard it can be – usually is
– to make commercial headway.

Starting
a new company with a new idea is one thing. Trying to make it grow in
a competitive marketplace is another. Startups have their own
specific needs: they have a high growth ambition and want to spread
across borders easily.

As
I have said before, I think startups could be given an easier
beginning and helped more to bridge the gap from lab to market.

For
this, the EU has the Startup
Europeprogramme,
which aims to strengthen the business environment for web and ICT
entrepreneurs so that their ideas and business can start and grow.

The
latest development here is a new single entry point called Startup
Europe Clubthat
will link startups across Europe, connecting different networks of
ecosystem builders and helping to bridge the gap between investors,
corporates and startups.

It
will be launched on July 2 during the Accelerators
Assembly event
in London, and serve as an information hub to guide anyone interested
in the startups scene in Europe.

A
gateway for European startups

There
are several benefits in creating a ‘gateway’ portal like this. It
can help startups to find skilled employees wherever they are in the
EU; it can help them to access the right combination of finance
throughout Europe; and it can help startups to grow across borders
with access to infrastructure.

I
take this occasion to also welcome all of you gathering in Brussels
this week at the European
Young Innovators Unconvention.
It’s great to see all this entrepreneurial spirit from all over
Europe coming to Brussels – and it is a pity that I cannot be
amongst you these days. But the European Commission is very well
represented by my colleague @GOettingerEU.

The
subject you are going to discuss, i.e how to scale up in Europe is
deeply embedded into the objectives of the Digital Single Market
Strategy and I count on the startup communities across Europe to
contribute ideas and push for the swift adoptions of these measures
in the European Parliament and with their national governments.

Digital
Single Market strategy

Simplified
and modern rules for online and digital cross-border purchases, for
example: this should help e-commerce startups since they will find it
easier for them to comply with the laws, allow them to expand across
EU faster and offer their services to more customers.

A
push for interoperability, for better e-government solutions but also
work on platforms – essential for small companies and startups –
as well as, of course, VAT. Indeed, most of the DSM in one way or the
other is designed to give a strong support push to startups.

We
are also working to explore ways to attract more venture capital as
part of the Single Market Strategy and the Capital Markets Union,
which focuses on improving access to financing for all businesses
across Europe and investment projects – startups in particular. As
you know, it is in this context that we pursue work on a company law
environment that is better adapted to startup needs. Such as: clear
rules that make investments easier cross-border; easier hiring of
staff in several countries; easier establishment online and across
borders; help starting again quickly after failure, among others.